Assembling device.



F. KUSTERLEE.

ASSEMBLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-9,19%.

Patented se ia. 17,1918.

U TED snares PATENT ornrcn. I

FRANK KUSTERLEE, or KENosHA, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR To TH sIMMons MANUFAC- TUBING COMPANY, or KENOSHA, wIsooNsIr n CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

ASSEMBLING DE ICE.

Patented Sept.'1 7,1918.

Application filed October 9, 1915. Serial No. 55,0155.

To all whom it may concern: V

Be it known that I, FRANK KUSTERLEE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Kenosha, county of Kenosha, and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Assembling Devices, of which the following is a specifithe invention, is a cotter which is used to connect the frenching or corner casting connection to a tubular metal bedstead and a device for quickly and efficiently applying or inserting the cotter without injuring the bedstead parts. i

In the drawings which accompany this application' Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a tube of a metal bedstead frame showing the cotter and theapplying device inserted in,

the tube before the frenching is connected; Fig. 2 is also a longitudinal section through the tube shown in Fig. 1, and'taken at rightangles to Fig. 1, showing the tube dropped down over the frenching;

Fig. 3 is an end View of ing up the cotter; V r Fig. l is a section taken on the line 4.'1 of Fi .2 i

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 55 of a crank for draw- Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the cotter;

I and r Fig. 7 is a section of the completed connection between the frenching and the tube.

Metal bedsteads are usually constructed with tubular post members at each corner of the bedstead, the end frames of which are joined by means of side rails connected to the corner posts by means of interlocking cast-iron blocks secured, respectively, to the ends of the side rails and the sides ofithe posts. The female cast-iron block or corner fastening is usually secured to the post, and

in the trade is known as a frenching. In, t the heavier types of bedstead frames, the

corner fastenings or frenchings are usually cast around or lnmterlocking engagement 'with the hollow post members,so,that no other internal or extraneous connection is required. However, in certam classes of constructed entirely of brass, witha brass sheath, or of extremely thin steel, it is not practical to cast the frenching in interlocking engagement with the post on account of the danger of injuring the surface of the tube. For other reasons, it is frequently not desirable to cast the frenching directly upon the post and some other means must be employed to securely mountthe frenching upon the side of the tube, an eliicient frenching connection being illustrated in the drawings hereto annexed.

Referring to the drawings in Fig. 1, 10 represents the hollow post member to which the frenching 11 may be connected by means 'bedsteads, such as those having the posts t in engagement with the staple, but in readiness to be drawn into position by means of the cotter-applying device. In the particular combination of post and frenching and the connection therefor which is illustrated, the post- 10 is made of comparatively thin sheet metal, and distortionthereof by the use of the staple and cotter is prevented by inserting between the inner wall of the tube and the cotter a curved plate 15, which is also perforated to admit the staple 13.: The "side of the frenching which engages theouter wall of the post is curved tocorrespond with the curvature of the post, and, for convenience, the vstaple 13 is fixed in the frenching by casting the latter directly upon the legs 16 of said staple,'whichis preferably made of business, it has been the custom heretofore tomake the wedges or cotters 12- of malleable cast-iron and drive'the same into the staple by means of a heavy rod or other. device inserted into the tube from the open foot end thereof. The use of malleable cotters or wedges has been subject to manydisadvantages, among which are the high cost of the wedge, the inaccuracy in the dimensions of the same, which result in rejection of: a large proportion, due to poor fit, and particularly the lack of resiliency of the wedges or cotters which often were found to rattle in service.

small end 17 of the cotter the side. folds of the same are not as wideas at the rear end 18, and, in addition, the folds are splayed apart at the rear end 18, as shown more clearly in Fig. 5; while at the front end 17 the said folds are comparatively close together and substantially parallel. ll or convenience in inserting the cotter into the staple upon its entering movement, the side folds at the small or front end 17 of the cotter are cut away or beveled'off, as

shown at 19 in Fig. 6. The spacing of the side folds of the cotter at the front end 17 thereofis such that the said front end will enter rather freely into the space between the legs of the staple 13, but as the cotter is driven'or forced into the staple, the rear end ofthe cotter, which is thicker across the folds than the space between the legs of the staple, will be compressed tightly, the folds thus being forced together and caused to press outwardly with great force against the legsof the staple. The cotter is driven or forced into the staple until the cotter enters .the staple to a position where the tapered character of the cotter witl respect to its width across the flats of the folds, causes the curve of the fold to be pressed tightly into the inner curve of the staple, and the longitudinal edges of the sides of the cotter to engage the inner side of the plate 15 with great force. The position of the parts when the staple has been driven into its final position in the connection is illustrated in Fig. 7.

My improved cotter-s or wedges may be constructedof comparatively cheap fiat] steel or iron, and, since they are made by means of punches and dies, they are all substantially alike in their dimensions and fit perfectly. Although. they may be manufactured extremely cheaply, they are nevertheless extremely efficient inasmuch as the resiliency-of the wedges makes it impossible for them to become loosened up, due to shaking or vibration during shipment or While in service. Although I have since my invention applied cotters of this type to many thousands of-frenching connections, 1 have never heard of a cotter loosening up or falling out after it has once been securely driven or forced into place. The combination of the cotter and staple'in the frenchingconnection herein shown is particularly efllcient for the reason that in folding the cotter, theouter curve of the metal of the fold is the same as the natural inner curve of the staple, which is also formed up by means of a punch and die from tough strip metal, as before stated; hence, it is not necessary to construct the staple with diffieult angles or troublesome sharp bends, as would be the case if a cotter rectangular in section were used.v

When 1 first invented my improved cotter, 1 applied the same by driving it into the staple from the open foot end of the bedpost. This method of applying the cotterv I found to be fairly satisfactory for bedstead frames constructed of comparatively heavy gage tubing, but where the tubing of the bedpost is comparatively thin,

there is a tendency to bend or distort the post when the wedge is pounded into the staple, both on account of the sudden sharp blow of the drivinginstrument, and also on account of the fact that usually an excessive amount of force is applied. For this reason, 1 have devised the device described herein which enables me to gradually draw thecotter into the staple without the exerelse of excessive force or blows which might in ure the bedpost.

The device in its preferred, form comprises a carrier 20 which supports'the key to fit within the rear end 18 of the wedge or cotter 12 which is thus supported longi-1 tudinally of and in the slot 23 of the carrier. The smaller end 17 of the cotter 12 rests upon the curved plate 15, which is also introduced into the tube by means of the device and is carried bv a smallcurved plate 27 which is screwed to the under side:

ofthe outer end of thecarrier and forms a supporting shelf for said plate. Th'ecarrier is cut away on its under side for the reception of the plate 15 which is positioned longitudinally by the shoulder 28 formed by 1 said cutting away of the under side of the carrier 20. The key 12 isalso maintained in its roper position in the slot 23 by means of a upon the top of the insert 25.

In practice, .the tubes orfposts 10 are all at steel spring 29 which is screwed;

cut to the same lengthand the apertures 14 g in the posts are all punched at the same distance from theends of the tubes. On the rod 21, between the nut 22 and the carrier, 1

'mount a loosely fittin 'apertured collar 30,

slightly larger in diameter than the end of the tube, and having a tapered neck 31 which readily enters the bore of the post. I also arrange upon the outer end of the threaded rod 21 a pair of threaded lock-nuts'or collars 32 and 33 which are set at the proper distance from the carrier so that when the nut 22 is screwed completely back and engages the collar 32, and the neck 31 enters the end of the tube with the outer face of the part 30 engaging the nut 22, the hole 3 1 in the plate 15 will be in register with the hole in the post.

In using the device, I prefer to secure the frenching 11 in a suitable support, with the staple 13 projecting upwardly, and lay the bedpost in the proper position so that the staple enters the hole. I then, without 'disturbing the position of the post as a whole, elevate the outer end thereof sufficiently to permit the introduction of the carrier which supports the cotter on the plate 15, as shown in Fig. 1. The end of the tube is then lowered so that the staple enters the hole in the post and also the hole in the plate 15.- The operator then, by hand, gives a quick 'f, pull upon the projecting end of the devic so as to make the small end of the wedge 12 enter the staple. By the same movement, the supporting plate 27 is pulled from under the curved plate 15, which is thus forced into engagement with the innerwall of the tube. The wedge 12 is then forcibly drawn into the staple the additional distancenecessary to make a tight connection, by means of a connecting handle 35 applied to the nut 22. In order to save time, it is frequently desirable, before applying the crank, to screw up the nut 22 by the fingers as far as possible. After the crank 35 has been operated to the limit and forced thecotter 12 into its final position, the nut 22 is slacked oif until it again ocupies the position shown in Fig. 1, whereupon the carrier, by means of a sharp blow on the projecting end of the screw, is disengaged from the cotter and may then be removed from the tube.

This method of inserting the cotters into the frenching connections possesses many advantages over the old way of pounding them in by means of aheavy rod or other instrument introduced into the open end of the post. In the first place, it enablesthe cotter to be inserted with a substantially uniform amount of force; and in the second place, the pressure necessary to force the cotter into the staple is not suddenly applied, consequently there is no danger of breaking the staple or of distorting the tube, as in the case where the cotter receives a sudden heavy blow. Another advantage is that in case occasion arises, the connection may be disassembled with comparatively Copies of this patent may be obtained for a nut threaded on of said washer, a carrier secured to the 1n-- from the axis thereof, washer-holding means at the innerfive cents each, by addressing little trouble by applying a punch to the small end 17 of the cotter and driving it out of the stapleg whereas, in the old method, Where the cotters are inserted from the outer end of the tube instead of from the inner end, it is extremely diflicult to obtain secure enough grip on the large end of the cotter to enable it to be pulled out of the staple.

In this specification I have described the application of my invention to a frenching connection for a round tube, but it should be understood that the invention has many applications and may be used for various purposes in the same or a modified form. The scope of my invention, therefore, is not intended to be limited, except as the appended claims.

I clainiz- 1. In a device for ap lying a longitudinal key and a washer to a longitudinal seat in the interior of a hollow post, the combination of a carrier insertible into the open end of said post for supporting said key to lo cate the same in entering position, washer holding means at the outer end of said carrier and means connected to said carrier nd bearing against the open end of said post for forcing said key into its desired position over said washer.

2. In a device of the class described the combination of a rod having a threaded end arranged to project from the end of a hollow post means including a nut and a part hearing against the end of said post for pulling said rod outwardly of said post and a carrier carried by the inner end of said rod' and provided with key-holding means at its inner end and washer supporting means at its outer ends, said means being suitably spaced whereby the outer end of said key rests upon the inner end of said washer.

3. In a device of the class described the combination of a rod having a threaded end arranged to project out of a hollow post, a washer surrounding said threaded end and adapted to bear against the end of said post, said outer rod externally ner end of saidrod and offset end of said carrier, and key-supporting means at the outer end of said carrier, said means being suitably spaced whereby the outer end of said key rests upon and is supported by the inner end of said washer, said carrier being sultably slotted intermediate said means to permit relative movement of a through said washer. FRANK KUSTERLEE.

part extending VVitness esr J. H. OANTWELL, Gus JAooB.

the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

